06-15-2007, 03:57 PM
Hello Folks,
Some of you may have seen a form letter I have been posting in various groups and forums asking for volunteers. Up to now, I have mostly been looking for contributors that can add to the "Parents" side of the site. Why? Because I am a parent of a 4 year old boy with autism. It's what I know and understand, so that's why I sought those people first.
AutisticLiving.com will have three main areas, plus a "community" section. Parents, Professionals, Autistics(or "those with autism", which doesn't fit on a button), and Community. There are roughly 70 volunteers at this point, but to my knowledge only one person on the spectrum. As talented as he is, I don't think he can write that entire portion of the site on his own, nor would I ask him to.
What I need from this community is volunteers. Folks that are willing to write for the site not only with someone on the spectrum in mind as the reader, but to collaborate with those folks writing in other areas. In case you are wondering, the site will not be focusing on the "dark side of autism", like so many others do in the name of fund raising. The goal is to promote knowledge, understanding, and community.
If you're interested, please send an email to volunteer@autisticliving.com
Please include your age, experience, and the amount of time you're willing to volunteer.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Thank You,
Chris
******************************************
This is the letter I normally send around for volunteers
******************************************
Hello Everyone,
A short time ago, I embarked on a journey that is the technical
equivalent of climbing Mount Everest. A website that will cover ALL
things Autism . There will be no specific agenda, and no specific
cause. The goal is to provide everything, and I mean absolutely
everything. I am even putting together a section to track the
political scene, and already have at least one volunteer for that
section. I don't want another parent to go through what I did,
clicking hundreds of links out of Google search results only to find
one vaccine rant, or theory from the planet Mars, after the other.
Either that, or a page with ribbons, bows, puzzle pieces, and
absolutely no helpful information. Meanwhile their child is behind
them laying on the floor, watching something spin, or worse yet,
sitting in a corner. There should be no need to waste so much time
trying to learn about this disorder, and how to work with it. The time
would be much better spent working with the child, instead of hunting
for information, day after day.
In addition to being a reference, the site will be a "community".
Some of you may know it as "Web 2.0". I am handling most of that
myself, and since it's only code, I probably can. However, there are
many other features I have in mind which I may need some help with in
the future. As for the content, I cannot possibly populate the content
for this site myself. I would be writing for years, and do not possess
that kind of knowledge anyway.
So, what I am asking for today is your help. I need volunteers
with a professional background in Autism. I also need folks that may
have a technology, legal, journalism, or art background. If you have
lots of time, great. If not, I still need you. A few minutes is better
than no minutes. At this point there are over 30 volunteers
registered, with another 20 or so waiting to participate in later
development stages. As you probably already know, I am going to need
many more volunteers to launch this site successfully.
Some of the areas I need your help in, and content sections will
be:
-Advertising/Marketing
-Advocacy
-Audio/Video specialists(for free podcasts and instructional videos)
-Behavioral Therapy
-Biomedical Treatment
-Data Mining Specialists
-Dietary
-Content Editors
-Education
-Events, both tracking and planning
-Financial Aid
-Forum Moderators
-Legal issues, both for parents, AND the site.
-Local/Regional data
-Occupational Therapy
-Photography
-Politics(related to Autism)
-Products (reviews)
-Psychology
-Safety
-Speech Therapy
-Technical Professionals(to assist with site dev)
...and I'm sure the list will grow as time goes on.
Keep in mind, this site will have a global audience. I am looking
for volunteers from all countries, and all languages. The site will
have a translation feature which will allow folks to switch to their
first language.
If you would like to volunteer, please email me at...
volunteer -at sign- autisticliving.com
If you are interested, but do not wish to volunteer at this time, you
can sign up for the site launch mailing list here...
http://www.autisticliving.com
Keep in mind, I will be asking parents to participate in a "focus
group" of sorts as we get closer to launch. The first place I will
send out invitations from is that list.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Also, if you know of any others that you would see fit to contribute
to a site like this, please feel free to forward along this
information. You might even consider printing it out, and giving a
copy to your developmental pediatrician on your next visit.
Thank You,
Chris
Some of you may have seen a form letter I have been posting in various groups and forums asking for volunteers. Up to now, I have mostly been looking for contributors that can add to the "Parents" side of the site. Why? Because I am a parent of a 4 year old boy with autism. It's what I know and understand, so that's why I sought those people first.
AutisticLiving.com will have three main areas, plus a "community" section. Parents, Professionals, Autistics(or "those with autism", which doesn't fit on a button), and Community. There are roughly 70 volunteers at this point, but to my knowledge only one person on the spectrum. As talented as he is, I don't think he can write that entire portion of the site on his own, nor would I ask him to.
What I need from this community is volunteers. Folks that are willing to write for the site not only with someone on the spectrum in mind as the reader, but to collaborate with those folks writing in other areas. In case you are wondering, the site will not be focusing on the "dark side of autism", like so many others do in the name of fund raising. The goal is to promote knowledge, understanding, and community.
If you're interested, please send an email to volunteer@autisticliving.com
Please include your age, experience, and the amount of time you're willing to volunteer.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Thank You,
Chris
******************************************
This is the letter I normally send around for volunteers
******************************************
Hello Everyone,
A short time ago, I embarked on a journey that is the technical
equivalent of climbing Mount Everest. A website that will cover ALL
things Autism . There will be no specific agenda, and no specific
cause. The goal is to provide everything, and I mean absolutely
everything. I am even putting together a section to track the
political scene, and already have at least one volunteer for that
section. I don't want another parent to go through what I did,
clicking hundreds of links out of Google search results only to find
one vaccine rant, or theory from the planet Mars, after the other.
Either that, or a page with ribbons, bows, puzzle pieces, and
absolutely no helpful information. Meanwhile their child is behind
them laying on the floor, watching something spin, or worse yet,
sitting in a corner. There should be no need to waste so much time
trying to learn about this disorder, and how to work with it. The time
would be much better spent working with the child, instead of hunting
for information, day after day.
In addition to being a reference, the site will be a "community".
Some of you may know it as "Web 2.0". I am handling most of that
myself, and since it's only code, I probably can. However, there are
many other features I have in mind which I may need some help with in
the future. As for the content, I cannot possibly populate the content
for this site myself. I would be writing for years, and do not possess
that kind of knowledge anyway.
So, what I am asking for today is your help. I need volunteers
with a professional background in Autism. I also need folks that may
have a technology, legal, journalism, or art background. If you have
lots of time, great. If not, I still need you. A few minutes is better
than no minutes. At this point there are over 30 volunteers
registered, with another 20 or so waiting to participate in later
development stages. As you probably already know, I am going to need
many more volunteers to launch this site successfully.
Some of the areas I need your help in, and content sections will
be:
-Advertising/Marketing
-Advocacy
-Audio/Video specialists(for free podcasts and instructional videos)
-Behavioral Therapy
-Biomedical Treatment
-Data Mining Specialists
-Dietary
-Content Editors
-Education
-Events, both tracking and planning
-Financial Aid
-Forum Moderators
-Legal issues, both for parents, AND the site.
-Local/Regional data
-Occupational Therapy
-Photography
-Politics(related to Autism)
-Products (reviews)
-Psychology
-Safety
-Speech Therapy
-Technical Professionals(to assist with site dev)
...and I'm sure the list will grow as time goes on.
Keep in mind, this site will have a global audience. I am looking
for volunteers from all countries, and all languages. The site will
have a translation feature which will allow folks to switch to their
first language.
If you would like to volunteer, please email me at...
volunteer -at sign- autisticliving.com
If you are interested, but do not wish to volunteer at this time, you
can sign up for the site launch mailing list here...
http://www.autisticliving.com
Keep in mind, I will be asking parents to participate in a "focus
group" of sorts as we get closer to launch. The first place I will
send out invitations from is that list.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Also, if you know of any others that you would see fit to contribute
to a site like this, please feel free to forward along this
information. You might even consider printing it out, and giving a
copy to your developmental pediatrician on your next visit.
Thank You,
Chris